Platelet drop...but we're still home!

First off, thank you so much for the comments that were left on my last post. They meant so much and showed me how well supported my little family is during our hard times. I forget what amazing family and friends we have that carry and lift us through every trial. We are truly never alone. Thank you!

Second, I am sorry to have left you all on a limb without doing a further update this week on Beckham's health. I need to do better at updating more than just once a week. I should blame it on myself and my own laziness, but I am going to blame it on Hulu, which is my guilty pleasure. It's just too tempting to flip that on and get engrossed in a show instead of taking the time to write a post (please tell me that I am not the only one with a Hulu obsession?). But, I am going to make up for it now and give a detailed update.

Beckham had a pretty stable week for the most part with zero hospital stays, 2 blood draws, and even a little out of the house trip that was not health care related. His labs on Monday showed that his platelets had dropped down to 36 (yikes) and his hemoglobin was in the high 9's. This was not unexpected given his bruised and petechiae covered (red spots under the skin from blood that has leaked from the capillaries into the skin) appearance, but was still a blow because his platelets had been in the 70's the week before. I assumed at this point that we were headed up to Iowa City to begin treatment, but was proven wrong when his transplant doctor wanted to wait because he was, for the most part, stable. I'm not going to lie, I was a little irked at this point because I felt that platelets of 34 was not good (which it isn't) and that he needed to be started on a treatment. But after talking to the transplant team, I felt better and agreed to wait a couple of days and repeat labs again. When labs were drawn again, the results showed that his platelets had dropped only by 2 to 34 and that his hemoglobin was hovering in the low 9's. Still not great news, but still stable enough for us to stay home, but be super cautious in the process. We will head up to Iowa City on Tuesday for more labs and to meet with his transplant doctor and to discuss where we go from here. I promise to write another update at that time!

We have to, once again, pad Beckham's bed so that he does not harm himself when he sleeps. Pretty creative design, right?

As for some good news, we found a place to live in Iowa City! Yeah! After a day trip to look at a bunch a places (and let me tell you, there are some NASTY and expensive places that people try to rent out) we finally narrowed it down to two choices. Nate and I went back and forth, but finally decided on the place with the backyard - something that was our main criteria in the first place. We are excited to move (though we don't know exactly when), but now we have to go through the stress of figuring out what to do with our place here. If anyone is interested in a super cute two bedroom town house, please let me know!

I LOVE this picture. It is not only cute, but shows a milestone that we have waited for. Beckham has refused to sit down in a chair and eat since he lost his appetite a couple of months ago. He has also NEVER eaten pancakes. In this photo he is doing both!

Please keep our little guy in your prayers! He looks pretty rough right now with bruises from head to toe, and he keeps getting more because he never lets anything stop him.

-Beckham & Co.